US Democratic lawmakers slam ‘economic bombing’ after Cuba visit

AFP | Havana

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Two US Democratic lawmakers have met Cuba’s president in the first congressional visit since Washington imposed an oil blockade against the island, a measure they denounced as “economic bombing.”

US Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Jonathan Jackson concluded a five-day trip to Cuba on Sunday as President Donald Trump has stepped up pressure on the communist government.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel yesterday posted photos of his meeting with the lawmakers on social media platform X.

Diaz-Canel said that during the meeting he denounced “the criminal harm” caused by the US blockade as well as Washington’s “threats of even more aggressive actions.”

The Cuban leader, who confirmed in March that US and Cuban officials had held talks, reiterated his government’s willingness to “engage in serious and responsible bilateral dialogue, and finding solutions to existing differences.”

In a statement, the US lawmakers said the de facto blockade imposed by Trump in January was “illegal” and “causing untold suffering to the Cuban people.”

“This is cruel collective punishment -- effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country -- that has produced permanent damage. It must stop immediately,” the statement said.